Breast Cancer Awareness Stories
Michaela's Story
About 15 years ago, I was in sixth grade when my grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer. The first time she came to visit, she lost all of her hair. She tried to play it off as "hey guys, feel the peach fuzz". It was a little difficult because she has a very strong personality type. She describes herself as bossy, blunt, and direct. The experience is something I remember as a kid, and now as an adult, it has given me a new perspective since I didn't realize how much I didn't understand as a child. Because she has to take chemo for the rest of her life, she has to take a lot of different drugs for it. She describes herself as a ‘walking pharmacy’. She definitely keeps busy and never lets it get to her. As I am getting married next year, I hope she continues to fight against it and I just love her attitude. Ever since I was in high school I was educated on how you’re supposed to proceed with checking yourself and making sure you have good communication with your doctor because you never know when it’s going to show up. She’s sent a whole pamphlet on self-exam and I can’t express how important it is to get tested and checked up as early as possible. So if you can find anything that feels weird it’s better to get checked up. I’m very close to my granny and I’m very appreciative of any organization that can help her or anyone like her to survive breast cancer, because it’s very horrible. She survived and is still going strong. My uncle, her son, regularly participates in cancer walks. In his profile pic, he’s a big burly dude wearing a big tutu. He’s a construction plumber, bald with a motorcycle and goatee with a tutu. It is very heartwarming to see all the love and support that is out there.
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Marcy's Story
My name is Marcy Olin and I am the VP of Sales of the Speechless Division. This is a topic that is very near and dear to me because my grandmother, mother, and sister all had breast cancer. It’s really important to talk about self-breast exams; not just mammograms and MRI’s. My mother had a mammogram and it came back with nothing wrong but within a month she found something she felt needed to be checked out. Had she not been doing self-exams it wouldn’t have been caught so early. All the lymph nodes were involved and infected and she had to undergo very severe chemotherapy and radiation. I urge everybody, especially if they have a family history to do genetic testing to find out what their likelihood is. My mother, sister, and grandmother all tested negative for the BRCA gene. There’s a very big misconception that if you are negative you will not get breast cancer, that’s got nothing to do with it. It’s a really important issue to do your homework on. Every year I go and get an MRI and a mammogram because of my family history. I urge people to go get tested, and check yourselves, because the earlier the better. It’s important to have baseline films to make sure nothing is changing through the years. It’s a never-ending battle but it is always better to know and to get tested.
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Shanna's Story
I am Shanna, the VP of Sales at Kut from the Kloth. This year, I lost a very dear friend to breast cancer. She was around 34 when she was diagnosed with it. Having been on the younger side of the spectrum, as well as being a woman, a mother, and one of her best friends, we were all shocked to learn that she not only had breast cancer but that it was terminal. When Lindsey found out that she was diagnosed, she was optimistic. But I think for her, it was one of these things where she never wanted anyone to feel sorry for her. She knew that it was eventually going to take her life and the whole time she was courageous. It was encouraging to see her go on this fight not knowing how long she had. She was always positive and always loved life. The fact that life can go by so fast is kind of taken advantage of when we're young and healthy. As a mother, I found it very scary because you know when you're young, you take advantage of time, because you feel like you'll be here forever. The whole time she was so positive, and I think awareness is what was important for her and for us. It doesn't matter what your age is, this disease can affect you at any time. The one thing I did learn, with breast cancer, there are so many different forms of breast cancer, and there are so many different ways that you can get it, and it doesn't matter how old you are or how healthy you are, you just have to be proactive. When it works, your life can be saved or at least prolonged. Although they did not think she would live that long, she ended up living another 4 years. I think learning about the disease from someone having it at a young age and with the different things you can do touched me. As well, I was able to educate my daughter and her daughter about it. Prevention is important, and it's important to educate more women about it. There's just so much out there that people don't know until they get the disease. We missed out on that experience because I think it's so important to know things before they happen. She is one of my best friends, and I miss her all the time. It was devastating to lose one of my best friends before her 40th birthday. Our group is doing a walk for breast cancer awareness this year. Her legacy will live on, and we will be able to help other people, and doing this has touched so many people. We have to educate other women and make sure we spread the word. Early detection is the most important thing, regardless of whether the disease is terminal or not.
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Jaime's Story
My name is Jamie Guzman, I’ve been with Kut from the Kloth for 26 years. I’m the director of distribution here and currently, I’m a cancer patient myself. I wanted to speak about Lita Francisco; she was a co-worker of mine and one of my many mentors I’ve had here at Kut from the Kloth. She passed from breast cancer a few years back. Lita was like a mother to me here at Kut from the Kloth. Not only did I lose my biological mother to cancer but I also lost Lita to cancer too. She was a great woman, a great mother, a great employee, and she loved life. Even when she was dealing with cancer and had her bad days, she was always grateful. She gave me the best hugs, and when I cussed in front of her, gave me the best ear pullings. So no matter what I always had my mother around me. It’s someone who I miss dearly and unfortunately, was taken by this awful disease. I wish everybody who has to deal with this disease the best of luck. I’d like to give a special thanks to Kut from the Kloth for everything that they’ve done for us, everything that they’ve done for Lita. Thank you all and god bless you!
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Jamie's Story
My name is Jamie and I am the west coast sales manager for Kut from the Kloth. When I was young, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. She battled the disease for over four years. It was hard for us to talk about and it took me a long time to realize that it would be okay. In the back of your mind, you always think that it won't happen to you. Losing a parent is extremely difficult and you are never prepared for how it will affect you. Over the past 12 years, I have found that discussing such things is so important, even though they are difficult to discuss. The importance of early detection of the disease cannot be overstated. In order to save lives, it is essential to make people aware that it affects everyone and be vigilant about testing. While I was at my mother's bedside for three months, my perspective on life changed. Since becoming a mom, I've been applying that experience to my life every day. It has made me more health conscious, and it has taught me to cherish every moment together with my family. You never know when everything will change. My mom always maintained a positive attitude and outlook during her life and experience. I try and apply that to everything I do. Overall, for me it's about having the difficult conversations and encouraging early detection.
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Bernice's Story
My name is Bernice, and I was personally affected by breast cancer. I was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer in November 2018. I went through all the stages and options including genetic testing. I specifically had the BRCA1 gene, from my fathers side of the family. Since I have a twin sister, I suggested for her to also get tested and unfortunately she too was diagnosed shortly after me. I feel like I saved my sister's life because had I not gotten cancer, then she wouldn’t have known she had cancer. We went through it together; we do everything together. They make fun of us, they tell us you can’t do anything alone, even cancer. Trying to live a life after cancer is hard, but if you have the will you can do it. You just have to get back to living life. It may not be beautiful and roses. I still have to take medication for 8 more years since the cancer could come back. They took 12 lymph nodes out of my arm because they found cancer in them, so I have to take a pill that microscopically kills cancer in the body. It was honestly a lot to process and adapt to but I stayed on top of treatments and had the support from family and my pet which made all the difference in my journey. Both my sister and I survived thankfully. My advice would be to never give up, seek positivity, and stay close to family to overcome this disease.
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